Sen. Ted Kennedy dies at age 77 and The Social Media Frenzy Follows

Sen. Edward “Ted” Kennedy died shortly before midnight on Tuesday at his home in Hyannis Port Massachusetts.  The Democratic patriarch was 77.

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Kennedy was the younger brother of President John F. Kennedy and Robert Kennedy; both were assassinated.

Though the Whitehouse eluded him he was known to be an effective lawmaker.  At times he was called The Lion of the Senate.

Kennedy was diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor after having a seizure in May 2008.

I found out Sen. Kennedy’s passing in looking at Twitter.  I noticed that the number one trending topic was “Ted Kennedy” and guessed that he may have passed.  It had been speculated that President Obama might visit the ailing senator while on his presidential vacation.

Screen Shot of CNN.com

Quickly clicking on CNN I find that I stumbled upon the news very quickly.

The ammount of dedication social media users show to spreading news is amazing.

Moments after posting a link to this blog on Twitter, I searched for “Senator Ted Kennedy” at search.twitter and I was already on the eighth page of tweeters.

Eleven minutes after my initial Twitter post some 487 additional people have posted to twitter something mentioning Ted Kennedy.  Attempts to find the original Tweet using search.twitter failed given that it only archives the last 30 minutes of tweets.

Bob Dylan unknown in Newark

Eccentric rocker Bob Dylan is  a complete unknown in Newark, New Jersey. On July 23rd, police responded to a call,  and approached Dylan who was looking into the window of a house that was for sale. The officer who questioned him thought she might recognize the name, but wasn’t sure.  The rock icon was without his drivers license. Dylan took the police to his tour buses where he showed identification. Dylan was in the area on tour with Willie Nelson and John Melloncamp. I wonder if Bob Dylan will be invited to a beer summit now?

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Astana dominates 2009 Tour de France

Alberto Contador rode over the cobbles of the Champs Elysees in Paris France to win this year’s  Tour de France.  Lance Armstrong earned an impressive third spot on the podium behind Andy Schleck in his comeback after two years of retirement.

However, the real winner today is Mark Cavendish who finished second in the Green jersey contest behind Norway’s “God of Thunder” Thor Hushovd.  Cavendish was launched into orbit by his lead on a tremendous sprint finish to conclude this year’s Tour.   No one else was even close.

Armstrong will likely make a big splash in next year’s Tour.  I suspect that race etiquette kept him from competing at his highest level with team mate Contador.   Armstrong mentioned recently that he was examining the prospect of starting a Nike Livestrong Team.  It would be safe to assume that Armstrong will be the chief and not just another Indian if that comes to pass.

All things said and done, the 2009 Tour de France was highlighted by Lance Armstrong’s return to the race.  Surprisingly, Armstrong made it to the podium, quieting nay-sayers and spreading the name of Livestrong, his charity that aims to support cancer research.  Next year, I would like to see Armstrong ride onto the cobbles of the Champs Elysees wearing yellow.

Summer Time’s calling me

I’m looking forward todays filled with  big porches and cold popsicles; spam sandwiches and fizzy cokes with that indescribable warm summer breeze that can only be found near the coast.  Yea, a land of low-country boil, and salt water taffy.

Yes, friends these things are to be found as Heather and I head to Myrtle Beach for our annual dose of surf, sun and seafood.

The car is loaded, the cat is gone, and the kitchen sink didn’t fit into my suitcase.

When I close my eyes I think about the smell of salt marsh and cheap coffee in the morning.  Five hours separate us and the sand.  Here’s to cheerful car rides and books on tape.

Bon voyage.

Stay Tuned and I will share my trip into coastal southern culture.

Taco Bell Dog Dies of Stroke

In what might be the biggest celebrity death since Michael Jackson, the famed Taco Bell dog that said “Yo Quiero Taco Bell” passed away Tuesday evening.  At fifteen in human years, (that’s 105 in doggy years), this Chihuahua gave the world a free Spanish lesson.

The Taco Bell dog, otherwise named Gidget, died of a stroke according to trainer Sue Chipperton who joked that caring for the retired former megastar was kind of like watching after a plant.

After Gidget, and the advertising company that represented her, were let go, she had little success.  She was featured as the mom dog in Legally Blond 2.

Taco Bell dog, here’s to you, maybe tomorrow I will go give your ailing fast food restaurant some business…

Can Hincapie take the Yellow?

Today marks the 14^th stage of the most boring Tour de France since last year.  Since Vinokourov and Rasmussen and many other favorites were kicked off of the tour in 2007 I have largely been jaded by many of the riders.  It is only a minor understatement on my part to say that the only people in this year’s race are Lance Armstrong, Alberto Contador, Mark Cavendish and Thor Hushovd.  The GC is has been approximately the same for days now.

Currently there is a breakaway which Cavendish was in.  However, the mega-sprinter decided to back off given that his Highroad captain George Hincapie was in the breakaway.  In theory Hincapie could take the Yellow today.  Contador has dropped back to talk to his coach and former Hincapie coach Johan Bruyneel.  It seems that Contador is concerned about the breakaway.

Yesterday, Mark Cavendish went to the podium to be presented with the green jersey, only to be informed that Thor Hushovd won it yesterday.  Ouch.

Also, Levi Leipheimer, a perennial tour bridesmaid broke his wrist yesterday and is out of the tour.  His absence opens up the 4^th place spot in the general classification.  He will be missed by Contador and Armstrong in the final mountain stages.

I was excited about Armstrong’s return, and even more surprised that he is showing good legs.  But as of yet, I haven’t seen a tremendous effort out of the former seven time tour winner. Let’s see if something happens for a few days.  It will only take one “Great” day on the part of Contador or Armstrong to win the Tour. I suspect the first person to get the boost, will take the Maillot Jaune in Paris.

2009 Tour De France; Something rotten in the state of Astana

Stage ten had all of the highlights of a typical day of the 2009 Tour de France; a Mark Cavendish stage win, some Lance Armstrong and Alberto Contador drama, and silly decision making by Tour director Christian Prudhomme.

Firstly, Cavendish took home the stage win, though he is in second place in the Green Jersey competition to Thor Hushovd, whom I thought would barely make a ripple in this year’s tour.  Here’s to hoping Cavendish pulls it out at the end.

Yesterday, Armstrong stated that there was some animosity on the Kazakh Team Astana.  Today, Contador denies those allegations in an interview posted on Astana’s website.  The interview is translated from Spanish into English, however one gets the idea that there is some tension that Contador simply does not want to talk about.

When Contador was asked if he felt he was the leader of Astana, the ’07 Tour winner replied, “If I was clearly the leader there would not be this polemic after Arcalis.”  When asked if the situation with Armstrong was influencing him, the Spaniard indicated a tiredness of being asked these questions saying, “The situation would be better if there was no place for questions such as these…”

Prior to Armstrong’s remarks yesterday I was of the opinion that Lance was going to be riding support for Contador by this time in the Tour despite the fact that the day before the tour, the seven time tour winner indicated that he was going to go for a win.

As the Tour winds through the Alps the time gaps will get bigger.  This blogger hopes that the 3^rd ranked Armstrong will be able to gain at least 8 seconds in order to get into 2^nd place.  Armstrong did not chase Contador when he went off in a break away.  Contador has indicated that he will give Lance the same courtesy as they are on the same team.  I for one hope Lance can work hard in the mountains and gain some time.

Today was also the day of the radio free experiment.  Riders and their directors were not allowed today to use radios.  Many teams have objected to the radio free experiment, but Prudhomme went on with it.  The theory behind this is that radios cause the riders to be docile.   By all reports, the tour today was uneventful.

Armstrong and Contador: Two Champions looking for Yellow.

Today marks the end of the 9th stage of the Tour de France.  The epic Tourmalet, the last of 3 stages in the Pyrenees, was treated as a little hill in light of recent developments.   Lance Armstrong, seven time tour champion, and team mate of 2007 tour champion Alberto Contador, admits that there is strife at the Astana breakfast table.  Armstrong speaks of his relations with Contador saying “The honest truth is that there’s a little tension”.  Armstrong goes on to call Contador “strong, and very ambitious”.

Armstrong acknowledges that if the 26 year old Spaniard “proves to be the strongest in the race, there is nothing” he (Armstrong) can do.  Armstrong made these comments to a French network this afternoon also revealing that he is looking to have his own team next year, likely a Livestrong-Nike team.  This would likely be coached by Astana coach and longtime friend of Armstrong, Johan Bruyneel.  These future plans are probably shaking up the powers at be in Astana.

Astana is also protesting an experiment by Tour organizers in which riders and team cars will not be allowed to use radio communication.  Supporters of a radio-free tour say that radios cause the race to be a video game controlled by team directors with TV’s in their team cars.

Tomorrow is a break day for tour riders.  Tuesday’s stage 10 will likely be a radio-free day of racing as well as providing a good stage for the sprinters.   Personally, here’s to hoping Cavendish takes the stage Tuesday.

Michael Jackson Memorial: Review of Online Streaming Video

Yesterday I watched the Michael Jackson memorial service through three different online viewing platforms.  Facebook and CNN, CBS and Twitter, and Fox were my video sources.  I watched the service online which was commercial free, but I learn also that most of the TV coverage was commercial free as well.

At the onset of the star-studded event The Staples Center was having technical difficulties with the  audio system.  Smokie Robinson’s initial comments were cut off because of this error.

I first used CNN partnering with Facebook to view the memorial.  During the audio problems a Facebook employee told viewers that 6000 viewers were commenting in the Michael Jackson video chat every minute.  This was my least favorite of the online viewing platforms because the video was very choppy.  Nicole Abboud said of the coverage was “extremely poor”. My wife, using a superior computer, indicated that there were no problems for her.

Secondly, I viewed CBS which coupled itself with the micro-blogging site, Twitter.  It was amusing to me to hear what I thought was Katie Couric talking what she thought was off mic during the service.  I logged in and Tweeted which automatically formatted my tweets to say “Hey CBS”, which cut my usable text down to approximately 80 characters on an already abbreviated blog function.

My last and preferred viewing platform was FOX who partnered with no social media site.  Fox had the added benefit of allowing viewers to view the coverage on the full computer monitor, which was much clearer than the CNN/Facebook version of the full screen coverage.

All totaled there were a lot of big names present, Smokie Robinson, Lionel Richie, Kobe Bryant, John Mayer, and the Rev. Al Sharpton.  Many of the performances were uninspired, however, at the end a version of “We Are the World” by a choir made of up friends, family, and celebrities was very touching.

Apparently this service cost the city of Los Angeles some 1.4 million dollars, and they are accepting donations.  Maybe they should have put some PayPal links in the ‘net coverage.

Armstrong rides up in the Tour de France

I have been a Tour de France enthusiast since the 2003 Tour where Lance Armstong took home his 5^th tour win.

This year, 2009, marks Lances could be triumphant return to the tour riding for Team Astana..  Yesterday, Armstrong, who is a support rider for Alberto Contador captain of Team Astana, got into a break away and moved up to 3^rd place overall.  One position of ahead of Contador.

Today, Astana took home first in the first Team Time Trial, which allowed Lance to gain time on the current yellow jersey wearer, Fabian Cancellara.  This was enough for Armstrong to move up to 2^nd place, but not enough for the maillot jaune yellow jersey which signifies the overall leader of the general classification.

Sportscasters everywhere are hoping that Lance being on the same team as 2007’s tour winner Alberto Contador, would cause strife.  It is my opinion that Armstrong is too professional to not play by whatever plan Astana Coach Johan Bruyneel has cooked up.  Bruyneel was the coach of Armstrong’s Postal and Discovery team during all of Armstrong’s seven tour wins.

This development in the GC causes me to doubt my prediction that Armstrong would do well to achieve a top 20 finish.  Can Armstrong take home another win? I hope so.

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